Homemade Strawberry Jam (SCD & GFCF)

Today has been a super busy day for me, blog and food related. First, I’ve been continuing to revamp this blog – in big and little ways. There should be a post coming up soon about all the developments that have been going on here. It’s all by myself, I don’t have a hired blog developer or someone else who’s a computer and programming whizz to do it, so it’s been going slow and steady.

Next, there’s the food. I was hoping to make two videos today, but I may have to wait until tomorrow to do it. I made almond flour crepes, saving them for a project that I’m doing – it’s a surprise for next week for a very special something I’m doing and am excited about! They’re in the freezer now, each crepe separated by wax paper so that they don’t stick together and they’re easier to thaw when I’m ready to use them. Um, they were eaten by family members. I’ll have to make more later. That project is still on, though! In the meantime, I have this strawberry jam to share that I made today.

Strawberries are just one of the most perfect fruits, and classy – it’s one of the three of what I consider classic ice cream flavours: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, respectively – or throw them all together and have Neopolitan ice cream. But today is not about ice cream. It’s about jam.

Only naturally occurring fruit pectin – the pectin that’s already in the fruit – is allowed on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). Extracted pectin, the kind that’s in powdered form and bought at the store, is not. I have never made jam or similar preserves with pectin as an added ingredient, so I cannot answer any questions about how to use it. To make SCD friendly jam, only the pectin that naturally occurs in the fruit is relied on. No thickeners or other additives are used. Depending on the fruit used, plus amount of cooking time, it isn’t always as thick as commercial jams but it still thickens to a general jam consistency. A general rule of thumb: fruit that’s richer in pectin will result thicker jams than fruit that contains less pectin.

The recipe for this jam is very simple: fruit, water, and honey to taste. Use as much fruit as you like and only use enough water to cover the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching. Depending on how sweet the fruit already is, honey may not even be required. The following measurements are what I used, that I had on hand.

Makes about 1/2 cup.

Ingredients:

About 1 lb. fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
Water
Honey to taste

Method:

Place the strawberries in a small pot and add water, enough to cover the bottom to prevent scorching. Cook over medium heat. As it thickens, it will start bubbling but not enough to cook over. Stir occasionally, adding more water if necessary, and add honey to taste. Cook until it’s thickened to preferred or desired consistency. For mine, I cooked it for about 30 minutes. The longer it cooks, the thicker it becomes. When it’s thick enough for you, remove from heat and transfer to a container or jar. The jam will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover and refrigerate. It will keep for a week in the fridge and up to 1 month in the freezer. Enjoy!

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7 thoughts on “Homemade Strawberry Jam (SCD & GFCF)”

This is so lovely! I love the revamping on the blog and can’t wait to see what is upcoming. This is wonderful jam, too. My Grandma used to make it as a standard and keep as freezer jam and then take it out for tea times and also to add to pies and ice cream. Such a classic treat!

Lisa, oh dear. In that instance I really meant, “to taste” – tasting it as you add the honey, until it’s sweet enough for you and based on how sweet the fruit already is. I didn’t measure the honey (although, now in hindsight, I realize really I should have) but, as a guideline, perhaps start with 1/8 to 1/4 cup honey for starters. Honey is twice as sweet as sugar so that would be an equivalent of 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar, if you need a benchmark. After that, if you think it needs to be sweeter, add more honey in small amounts, taste testing after every addition until it’s sweet enough for you. Hope that helps!

I cooked a fresh fruit flat of strawberries down to 1 qt. No honey, no water. Took me all day, but the result was worth the effort. I then poured the hot liquid into 1/2 pint canning jars and processed. The result has been wonderful and SCD friendly. I use about 2 tablespoons into 1/2 cup of yogurt. Tastes like strawberries and heavy whipping cream according to my mom. Isn’t as thick as store bought jam, but tastes lovely.